Katrina’s fleet had closed the gap. A line of ships had cut off their escape, yet, for some reason, they were no longer firing. It might have been that Katrina already knew they were dead, or perhaps they just weren’t concerned about the tiny black boat.

Maya stood at the bow of the ship, her watery cloak rippling at her back. The galleons blocking their path quickly grew in size as they approached. Surprisingly, it was not fear that filled the young Captain’s mind.

It was a ringing – simultaneously dull and screeching. The stillness of waiting for an event that one already knew the outcome of. Maya was numb. Her hands were clenched tightly into fists, but her back was straight.

“They’ll tear us to shreds before we can ram them!” Cyll said. There was no longer any reason to yell. The sea was silent.

“They don’t respect us,” Maya replied, her voice not much higher than a whisper. “That’s what they’re saying. They stopped their cannons to see what we would do.”

“And what can we do?” Humbol asked, dragging himself upright and sending a bitter look at the fleet. “Can you imagine how frustrating it is to find the person you’re looking for and then die the next day?”

“I resent that,” Maya said, her voice lowering to a growl.

“Death?”

“No,” Maya said, spitting over the side of the boat and into the water. “They don’t think we’re a threat. I don’t know why they chose to spend all this effort sinking us, but I don’t care either. If we survive, we can figure it out later. What I resent is they’re treating us like bugs.”

“There’s not much we can do about it,” Cyll said bitterly. “We can’t match their guns. Wavedance will be blown to smithereens within a few minutes.”

“Not before we make them pay for it in blood,” Maya said. “I’ve played the shit hand that life dealt me ever since Sorrow killed my parents. If I’m going to die here, it’ll be on my terms.”

“And those are?” Humbol asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Not silently,” Maya said. She gave the newest crewmember something between a savage and a crazed smile.

“Cannons blazing, then?” Cyll asked, glancing at the wheel. “I could turn us broadside. We might get a shot or two in before we go down.”

“No. I’m not going to go down without someone knowing who they’re sinking,” Maya replied. She glanced at Humbol. “How much energy do you have left?”

“Not much,” the lanky man replied. “No more speed for your ship, if that’s what you mean.”

“Could you fly me over to their ship?” Maya asked.

“Yeah, I suppose I could,” Humbol said after musing for a moment. “But…why?”

“If they don’t want to acknowledge us as opponents, I’ll make them,” Maya replied, resting a hand on her sickle. “Cyll, Patty, stay on the boat. Keep sailing in the same direction. Try to sink as many of the bastards as you can.”

The two crewmates nodded, determination crossing their grim faces. Maya turned back to Humbol. She didn’t have to say anything else. The jewelry laden pirate wrapped his arms around her stomach. The two of them launched into the air like a flaming white comet.

“Any plan once we get aboard?” Humbol asked. His words were somehow not ripped away by the wind howling past their heads.

Maya gazed down at the ship they were hurtling towards. It was a large galleon, probably four to five times the size of Wavedance. She could spot at least fifteen men on the top deck, although it was too far to see what they were thinking.

“Make them sing,” Maya said, forcing her body to relax. If she went into a fight with tense muscles, she wouldn’t last more than a few seconds.

Humbol flew much faster than any ship could sail. They quickly left Wavedance behind. The deck of the closest galleon quickly swam into vision. The sailors aboard the ship were watching them in shock. Several had their hands on their weapons, but most hadn’t drawn them.

They slammed into the deck. A blast of wind ripped out from where they landed, pushing the pirates back. Maya rose to her feet, her sickle already flying before she was fully upright. It arced cleanly across the deck, opening a deep furrow in the closest man’s neck. He collapsed to the ground, his hands wrapped around his throat as he gurgled for air.

“I’m not going to sit around and watch my second ship sink!” Maya yelled, yanking the sickle back and spinning it in a circle by her side. “Sing for me, you bastards. I need a funeral dirge!”

Humbol cackled. His laugh turned haunting and windy as his body turned translucent. Ghostly white figures formed all around the deck.

“Come on boys!” Humbol commanded. “You heard the captain, sing!”

Humbol swapped places with a ghost standing behind one of the other pirates. His sword punched through the man’s chest before he vanished again, leaving the man to bleed out on the deck.

A large burly man with a shortsword charged at Maya. She tumbled out of the way, cutting a thin gash across his chest with her weapon in the process. He spun just in time to catch the blade across his throat. The man crumpled, his world going dark.

“Is that it? Come at me!” Maya yelled.

Men poured out from below deck, roaring battle cries as they drew their weapons. The remaining crewmembers raised their own swords. Then they charged.

The sounds of battle engulphed the ship. Maya’s sickle created a tornado of metal and blood around her as she danced through their ranks. The watery cloak at her back shifted around her form like a protective snake, intercepting blows before they touched her.

Bolts of fire and other elements tore across the deck, ravaging the wood and sails as the men with abilities did their best to pin down Maya and Humbol. Screams and yells rose into the air as the fight intensified.

Humbol flickered back and forth, his weapons biting at the flesh of anyone who wasn’t paying attention. However, most of the crew ignored him in favor of what they saw to be the easy target standing on the deck of their ship.